Diabetes can be prevented, or at least reduced, and people can live a better life with diabetes by doing some good things.

• Progression to diabetes among those with prediabetes is not inevitable. Studies have shown that people with prediabetes who lose weight and increase their physical activity can prevent or delay diabetes and return their blood glucose levels to normal.

• In the Diabetes Prevention Program, a large prevention study of people at high risk for diabetes showed that lifestyle intervention reduced developing diabetes by 58% over 3 years. The reduction was even greater, 71%, among adults aged 60 years or older.

• Interventions to prevent or delay type 2 diabetes in individuals with prediabetes can be feasible and cost-effective. Research has found that lifestyle interventions are more cost-effective than medications.

• Many people with type 2 diabetes can control their blood glucose by following a healthy meal plan and exercise program, losing excess weight, and taking oral medication. Some people with type 2 diabetes may also need insulin to control their blood glucose.

• Self-management education or training is a key step in improving health outcomes and quality of life. It focuses on self-care behaviors, such as healthy eating, being active, and monitoring blood sugar. It is a collaborative process in which diabetes educators help people with or at risk for diabetes gain the knowledge and problem-solving and coping skills needed to successfully self-manage the disease and its related conditions.

For additional information, go to the CDC website on diabetes at: http://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/.

Some organizations dealing with diabetes in the United States and around the world are:

American Diabetes Association: http://www.diabetes.org

Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International: http://www.jdrf.org

National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse: http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/

National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases of the National Institutes of Health: http://www.niddk.nih.gov

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Minority Health: http://www.omhrc.gov

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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention  Diabetes  Health  Science  William Atkins